The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and the situation is getting worse.
It’s safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 160,000+ legitimate WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
According to the Cnet report,
“With some old-fashioned trickery, hackers were able to get more than 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered Web sites to mount a distributed-denial-of-service attack against another Web site.”
(Source: cnet.com/news/ddos-attack-is-launched-from-162000-wordpress-sites)
As described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your site provides no value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites provide an opportunity to profit or benefit at your expense.
If hackers can hack and remotely take control of your site, that website can then be employed to attack other valuable sites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are very likely looking for security weaknesses and trying to break into your blog as you are reading this. Whether they will break in successfully depends on how difficult you have made it for hackers to continue persisting until they discover how to break in, or are forced to give up and decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Check Source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan will yield various results and details about your website …
(WP security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Being able to see what version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories can all be potentially useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution that can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This site was devoid of content and had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of this after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place within the site, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting visitors to the site and steal financial information.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
This simple example is evidence that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your web site are …
And let’s you quickly and easily fix these …
Plugins
Blog Defender comes with 3 plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, external servers and cloud solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do mass text string replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your website with security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin provides a range of site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
The third plugin lets you scan your plugins, WP themes, WP core files and content to detect whether any code in your files has been changed, and repair problems …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes step-by-step video training and PDF/DOC guides that show you exactly how to protect your site from malicious attacks …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your web site:
Installation Is Easy & Simple
The plugins are very easy to install. Just upload a zip file containing the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your admin area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow step-by-step training product that will guide you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free WordPress plugins you should install to get the job done inexpensively.
Some additional benefits of the plugin include:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Stolen – If you sell an info product (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Your Host – When a website has been hacked, expect to go through a great deal of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. Your, website can get suspended by your host, or even deindexed in search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender hide your WordPress web site from hackers and bots.
The product helps you fix the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- MySQL Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical process for securing your site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky themes and plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Feedback From Users
Here are just some testimonials that customers have submitted regarding the Blog Defender plugin:
”This is probably one of those times you ask yourself ‘do I really need this product?’ Let’s face it, on the surface it’s not going to immediately put more money in your pocket or even add some cool new gizmo to your site… The truth is yes you do and you need it now. I’ve been in the online business for 10+ years and had my fair share of hacked sites which have cost me time and money (lots of it)…I’ve also seen a good number of people have their reputations and entire businesses left in tatters when their sites have been hacked. Right now is the time to act, because when it’s too late, well basically you’ll be screwed (and you’ll regret the day you passed over such a great opportunity to protect yourself for so little). And by the way, if you think your web host will come to your rescue think again, you’ll be on your own, paying to put things right and suffering the cost of lost sales and business. This is a seriously good product and if you rely on WordPress to make you money online then it’s nothing less than essential. Buy it, follow Matt’s expert advice and don’t end up another victim!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
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”I sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently. Okay, it was my fault for not securing things more, BUT… I didn’t have a handy, current reference like this to turn to for quick help either.;)” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to the product’s site, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012.
Matt states on his site …
“With the volume of attacks nowadays … we probably won’t hold forever, so we’ve been busy creating even tougher WordPress security.”
The war on hackers is is a never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers can currently access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, won’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Plugin Support
The product is well-supported, can be used by both Mac and PC users, is compatible with the latest WordPress release and is backed by a risk-free, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
Plugin Cost
Blog Defender is normally available with a personal license only for use on unlimited sites. When we last checked, however, it was also being sold with Developer rights, allowing users to secure client sites as well.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: Current pricing for Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the plugin sells for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the software developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use This Product
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot ignore the importance of web security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your websites are hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without paying for costly solutions.
For more details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress Blogs
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